This invention relates to air conditioning and more particularly to a new and improved system, method and apparatus for controlling and significantly reducing the dangerous levels of gaseous contaminants and irritant particles which have been found to exist in the air which we breathe in a multitude of residential and commercial buildings.
It is herein illustrated and demonstrated, by way of example only, and not by way of limitation as to the form of its embodiment, its execution or its application, as providing a significantly improved heating and air conditioning system for a home.
The importance of this invention is that it addresses and solves a serious ongoing problem now being expressed in every type of public media, namely that the air which many of us breathe in our home and workplace is becoming so contaminated that not only our health but our lives may be threatened. That previously proposed solutions of this problem have been either unsatisfactory, inadequate or impractical is substantiated by the fact that there is at this time a substantial and ever increasing volume of public reports and warnings which confirm the continuance and increasing level of said problem.
Particular concern has been expressed for the extent to which the gaseous contaminant Radon and its daughters have insidiously infiltrated an extremely large number of homes in this country. This has been fueled by publication of results of relatively recent scientific investigations which reveal the fact that the highly dangerous Radon gas and its daughters has now been found to exist in the air circulating in many private homes and other places of human habitation at a level which is many times that which is considered unsafe.
Based on information received, Radon is a radioactive gaseous element which is a derivative of the decay of uranium, traces of which may be found in almost any soil. Apparently as long as this substance remains within the ground or escapes into the atmosphere there is little concern for its existence. However, it has been established in scientific research that once a house or other building is constructed, Radon gas seeking to escape from the ground thereunder will enter such house or other building through the various cracks and apertures that inherently exist or occur in what may be considered its foundation structure. Houses and other buildings are normally constructed to provide them with a substantially sealed interior environment and their heating and air conditioning systems are normally so designed to inherently dictate a substantially closed interior loop through which the air therein is circulated. Within such a loop little occurs other than a limited heating or cooling and relatively low efficiency filtering of that air which passes therethrough. It is such an environment that Radon and its daughters enter, in the process of which to attach themselves to smoke and dust particles which accrue in the air thereof. This is additive to the various other contaminants known to exist in such air but in and of itself contributes heavily to a resultant toxic effect of the so contaminated air upon those breathing it. It should be obvious therefrom particularly given a continuous infiltration of the air of such a house or building by the colorless and odorless contaminants Radon and its daughters that its inhabitants will soon be exposed to and breathing contaminants of such a level and of such a nature that they will experience deterioration of their health and eventually find themselves afflicted with disease such as lung cancer or worse.
In addition to providing an effective solution to the serious problem posed, embodiments of the present invention are simple and economical to fabricate and install, adaptable to a wide variety of application and most efficient and satisfactory in use. At the same time the method of the invention is not only simple and economical to execute but achieves its objective in a manner to enhance the efficiency of any heating and/or air conditioning system to which it applies. Most importantly the invention exhibits a practicality in its use and application.
As far as the inventor and others substantively involved in the present disclosure are aware, the state of the relevant prior art is best represented in the October 1986 edition of Consumers Research Magazine.